Newcastle United will look to get their Premier League season back on track when they host Brentford at St James’ Park. In a 3-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion two weeks ago, Eddie Howe’s team was outplayed and outclassed. The Bees are still unblemished after a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
Preview (Newcastle vs. Brentford)
Goals were promised during the violent birdfight between the Seagulls and the Magpies at the Amex Stadium before the international break, but the Newcastle supporters were not rewarded for their arduous journey south as an Irish prodigy single-handedly destroyed Howe’s men. Callum Wilson’s late goal for Brighton destroyed Brighton’s clean sheet. Evan Ferguson added a few more pounds to his value by scoring a beautiful hat-trick. However, the Englishman’s impact off the bench unsurprisingly was minor.
However, allowing the 10-man Reds to steal all three points from the hosts was obviously a sign of things to come. The hosts’ 5-1 thrashing of Aston Villa on the opening weekend now seems like a lifetime ago. Newcastle has had a rough start to the new season and is currently in 14th place. They facing three European giants Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, and AC Milan. The Italian giants will be waiting for Newcastle at San Siro on Tuesday for their first “group of death” matchup.
Before taking on some of the bigger names on the continent, Howe needs to stop an alarming trend that has seen Newcastle win just twice in their last nine Premier League games, keep just one clean sheet in their last 15 league games (against relegated Leicester City), and lose four straight games for the first time since the days of Steve Bruce in January 2021. In gameweek four, when Brentford and Bournemouth squared off, the Gtech Community Stadium fans also witnessed a four-goal extravaganza. A beautiful Mathias Jensen free kick opened the scoring after only seven minutes. Dominic Solanke and David Brooks later hushed the London crowd.
Team News
Sandro Tonali missed Italy’s victory over Ukraine on Tuesday due to a muscular problem. He is a serious doubt for both the visit of Brentford and his San Siro homecoming with Milan next week. He is just one of several notable players who have suffered during the international break. Tonali is now in the treatment room alongside Joe Willock (calf), Emil Krafth (ACL), and Javier Manquillo (groin). Sven Botman missed the Brighton thrashing due to an ankle injury. It may or may not get better in time for Brentford’s visit. The same is true for Elliot Anderson’s injury.
If Botman does not return to the starting lineup right away, Lewis Hall may be in line to make his debut after Matt Targett’s disappointing performance in the South. Dasilva, the 2020–21 EFL Cup hero, won’t be able to strike twice against Newcastle as he recovers from a serious thigh injury, while Shandon Baptiste will be out for the long future after dislocating his shoulder. Due to an adductor issue, Mikkel Damsgaard missed Bournemouth and Denmark’s international matches, but Frank is optimistic that the 23-year-old will be available.
Neal Maupay, who was on loan from Everton, has returned to the Bees for a homecoming while Toney is still on the naughty step until January; nonetheless, Mbeumo, Kevin Schade, and Yoane Wissa should continue to be the attacking trio for the time being. Up north, where questions over Tonali and Botman’s respective fitness levels will do the demoralized Magpies absolutely no favors, the Bees’ recent penchant for draws may serve them well.
Newcastle 2 – 1 Brentford
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